Pages

Thank you for supporting Walk to End Alzheimer's!

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk

Jessica Snell, Sedalia Walk
to End Alzheimer’s co-chair, and I were at the radio station Tuesday morning to
talk about the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. We were armed with the names of our
sponsors and teams, goals, and statistics. It’s always a pleasure to be on the
air with Doug, and even better to record the program for broadcast the next day.
When you are on the air live, you just have to go with it, but when the program
is recorded and your tongue gets tangled, you get “overs.” We all need overs
from time to time.

I’ve been involved with the
Walk since 1998 and during that time, I’ve seen a lot of changes. The first
year, I raised $400 and Jim and I walked with a handful of people. For the next
five years, I was the coordinator, or Walk chair, of our local Memory Walk. At
that time, our logo was the word “Alzheimer’s” with the “H” being two people,
leaning. The Alzheimer’s Association was well known as “Someone to lean on.”
The Walk began to draw hundreds of walkers.

For the next five years,
Shelley Spinner coordinated our Walk and I backed off the committee to make
sure everyone saw her as the leader of the group. She did a great job of
keeping the Walk exciting and fresh. I was able to concentrate on being captain
of Jim’s Team. Following her, Lisa Hayworth led the Walk committee for two
years. Lisa had no experience or help. At that time, my sister-in-law Ginger
and I went back on the committee, and we’ve remained on it since then helping
Sheila Ream.

Some things change and others remain the same. The Alzheimer’s Association changed the logo to the current
one and “Memory Walk” to Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Some of the format has
changed. The Promise ceremony has been added and it encompasses the
different ways that Alzheimer’s affects us. Our local chapter has changed names
from Mid-Missouri to Greater Missouri, merged with the Southwest Chapter, and
became a national chapter. What does this all mean? We still have chapter
offices where they were located previously and the Alzheimer’s Association
still provides the personal service that helped me throughout the years when
dementia ruled our lives.

Another change I’ve seen
over the years is how people have become more knowledgeable about the disease.
When I first approached area businesses in 1999 for corporate sponsorship, no
one seemed to know much about Alzheimer’s. Now, everyone seems to know a few
basics. A lot of credit goes to the Alzheimer’s Association
for raising public awareness.

The Walk is about people. It
is a time to show care and concern for those with the disease and their loved
ones. It is a time when everyone puts aside their differences and embraces the
opportunity to support their friends, neighbors, and relatives who are dealing
with Alzheimer’s. We have teams with different names, but in essence, we are
all one team. Competition is fierce, but friendly. I celebrate the teams that
raise more than our team.

When I was coordinating the
Sedalia Walk, I became friends with Ted Distler who coordinated the Jefferson
City Walk. We “trash talked” each other all the time about which town was going
to raise more money. In truth, it was all in competitive fun, and we supported
each other at fundraisers. Ted would drive to Sedalia for our Dance to
Remember, and I’d drive to Jefferson City for their Chicken Dinner. We had the
same connection to the disease and the same passion for doing what we could to
help other care partners and persons with dementia.

What people don’t understand
is Walk to End Alzheimer’s is a fun event. Yes, it is sobering at times when
you hear the stories of the participants, and the flower ceremony is touching,
but knowing that you are doing your part is heart lifting. Smiles, laughter,
and love are the order of the day. You don’t want to miss it or you’ll have to
wait another year. From babies in strollers to seniors in wheelchairs, we lend
support and lean on each other to end Alzheimer’s.

One of Healthline's Top 20 Alzheimer's Blogs

Follow by Email

Third Place in the 2013 Contest!

One of Healthline's Top Blogs

Voted one of Healthline's top blogs of 2012--4th Place in the Contest

Early Onset Blog in Top 25 2011 Alzheimer's Blogs - Healthline.com

Early Onset Alzheimer’s

This award-winning blog is a must-read for individuals experiencing early-onset Alzheimer’s. Less common than standard age-related dementias, early onset Alzheimer’s is virtually always a surprise to diagnosed individuals. Linda Fisher, blogger and author, knows the difficulty of this condition firsthand.

In her Early Onset Alzheimer’s blog, she teaches readers not just how to manage such a frightening condition, but also how to live life to the fullest. Her passion for helping others – showing everyone that life with Alzheimer’s is worth living – is a tremendous gift. Thank you, Linda!

Blog Awards

Early Onset Blog has received several blog awards. Due to new Google regulations, the links had to be removed. Past awards have included the #1 Health Blog , Top 10 blog in 2010, Top 25 Blog award in 2010, and a Top 50 award in 2012. We appreciate the recognition, but also understand the need to remove the links.

When Jim returned from Vietnam, he was stationed at Fort Riley, and we spent about a year and a half living in Manhattan, Kansas. With ba...

Linda's Blog Books

Books are a print version of Linda's award-winning Blog. These books are published for the benefit of those without Internet access or who just prefer to curl up with a book rather than browsing online. If you enjoy Linda's blog posts, you might want to purchase the book for a friend or family member.

Fisher began her online journal to share her experiences with families affected by early onset dementia. Her essays provide insight into family life often from a humorous viewpoint. She writes from her experiences as a longtime Alzheimer's Association volunteer and advocate and ten years as a primary caregiver for her husband, Jim.

Early Onset Blog

Alzheimer's Anthology of Unconditional Love by L. S. Fisher

The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation

I have participated in a link exchange with the Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation. They have this blog http://earlyonset.blogspot.com/ listed in their Alzheimer's blogs.

Lindsay Nason wrote about my Early Onset Blog: "I want to thank you for sharing your powerful experience and your creative suggestions with others. . . . Your blog offers a unique and personal insight into this disease, which can be such a comfort to other members of the Alzheimer's community."

Thank you, Lindsay, for your kind words and for including the Early Onset Blog on your website.